WINONA LAKE – Grace’s women’s basketball team suffered a 71-67 defeat at the hands of Spring Arbor on Wednesday night.

The Lady Lancers (8-9, 1-4 Crossroads League) hurt their own cause with 23 turnovers, making several costly miscues in the final minutes.

Spring Arbor’s guard penetration gave the Cougars (6-10, 1-4 CL) an advantage for much of the first half. The Cougars opened up a seven-point lead after just eight minutes of play.

The Lady Lancers’ offense, on the other hand, sputtered against Spring Arbor’s zone defense. Grace had 11 first-half turnovers and shot 34 percent for the half.

Grace’s rebounding kept the Lady Lancers in contention. Grace had a plus-9 advantage on the glass and scored seven second-chance points as a result. Spring Arbor went into the break ahead 35-30.

Grace came out firing to start the second half, rattling off nine unanswered points to claim a 39-35 lead. Gabby Bryant netted eight points over the first four minutes of the period to give Grace’s offense a much-needed boost.

The Lady Lancers maintained a slight lead for the first 10 minutes of the half before the Cougars flipped the game in their favor for good. Over a four-minute stretch, Spring Arbor outscored Grace 13-2 to grab a 59-52 lead with 6:39 to play. Grace was 1-for-5 from the floor with two turnovers offensively during that stretch.

Allison Kauffman did her best to spark a rally late in the game for Grace, scoring the final 10 points for the home team. But Spring Arbor made enough free throws to hold on for the win.

Grace’s turnover woes continued late in the game. The Lady Lancers turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions with two minutes remaining to hamper a comeback attempt.

Kauffman led all players with 29 points and 15 rebounds. She made 9-of-18 from the floor, 2-of-3 from the foul line and 9-of-12 from the free throw stripe. Bryant was also in double figures with 12 points on a pair of 3-pointers.

Kelsie Peterson tallied 7 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals, and Chloe Pridgen notched six points and six rebounds off the bench.

Grace had a decisive edge in rebounding for the game, doubling up Spring Arbor 44-22 on the glass. Spring Arbor scored 14 points off Grace’s 23 turnovers.

The Lady Lancers will look to recover on Saturday with a home matchup against No. 7 and defending national champion St. Francis at 1 p.m. The men’s game with St. Francis will follow the women’s in a doubleheader with the Cougars at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.